[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 44 (Tuesday, March 6, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13320-13321]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-5360]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION


Information Collection Being Submitted for Review and Approval to 
the Office of Management and Budget

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burden 
and as required b y the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 
U.S.C. 3502-3520), the Federal Communications Commission invites the 
general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to 
comment on the following information collection(s). Comments are 
requested concerning: (a) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the Commission, including whether the information shall have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the Commission's burden estimates; (c) 
ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information 
collected; (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of 
information on the respondents, including the use of automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology; and (e) 
ways to further reduce the information collection burden on small 
business concerns with fewer than 25 employees.
    The FCC may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information 
unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. No person 
shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection 
of information subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) that does 
not display a valid OMB control number.

DATES: Written Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) comments should be 
submitted on or before April 5, 2012. If you anticipate that you will 
be submitting PRA comments, but find it difficult to do so within the 
period of time allowed by this notice, you should advise the FCC 
contact listed below as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES: Submit your PRA comments to Nicholas A. Fraser, Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB), via fax at 202-395-5167 or via Internet at 
[email protected] and to Judith B. Herman, Federal 
Communications Commission, via the Internet at [email protected]. 
To submit your PRA comments by email send them to: [email protected].

[[Page 13321]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Judith B. Herman, Office of Managing 
Director, FCC, at 202-418-0214.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    OMB Control Number: 3060-0986.
    Title: Competitive Carrier Line Count Report and Self-Certification 
as a Rural Carrier.
    Form No.: N/A.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit, not-for-profit 
institutions and state, local or tribal government.
    Number of Respondents: 4,934 respondents; 5,048 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: .50 hours to 80 hours.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion, annual and quarterly reporting 
requirements, and third party disclosure requirement.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. 
Statutory authority for this information collection is contained in 47 
U.S.C. sections 151-154, 201-206, 214, 218-220, 251, 252, 254, 256, 
303(r), 332, 403, 405, and 410.
    Total Annual Burden: 163,435 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: N/A.
    Privacy Act Impact Assessment: N/A.
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: The Commission is not 
requesting that respondents submit confidential information to the 
Commission. We note that the Universal Service Administrative Company 
(USAC), who administers the Universal Service program, must preserve 
the confidentiality of all data obtained from respondents and 
contributors to the universal service support program mechanism; must 
not use the data except for purposes of administering the universal 
service support program; and must not disclose data in company-specific 
form unless directed to do so by the Commission.
    Needs and Uses: The Commission will submit this revised information 
collection to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) during this 30 
day comment period in order to obtain the full three year clearance 
from them.
    In November 2011, the Commission adopted a Report and Order, FCC 
11-161, Connect America Fund; A National Broadband Plan for Our Future; 
Establish Just and Reasonable Rates for Local Exchange Carriers; High-
Cost Universal Service Support; Developing a Unified Intercarrier 
Compensation Regime; Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service; 
Life-line and Link-Up; and Universal Service Reform--Mobility Fund. 
This revision addresses several reforms adopted in the Report and 
Order. The Commission plans to submit additional revisions or new 
collections for OMB review and approval to address other reforms 
adopted in the Order at a later date.
    During the review process, it was determined that the reporting 
requirements under OMB Control Number 3060-0894 should be eliminated. 
The Order eliminated the rate comparability review and certification, 
as well as the certification letter accounting for receipt of federal 
support in OMB Control Number 3060-0894 was duplicative of the 
certification pursuant to section 254(e) of the Act. Upon OMB approval 
of this revised information collection, the Commission will voluntarily 
discontinue OMB Control Number 3060-0894.
    The Order also moved the recordkeeping requirement from 47 CFR 
section 54.202(e) to new 47 CFR section 54.320. The Commission is 
deleting this recordkeeping requirement from the information 
collections in OMB Control Numbers 3060-1081 and 3060-0774.
    The Order provides:
    (1) That existing high-cost support for price cap incumbent local 
exchange carriers will be frozen at the 2011 levels.
    (2) Adopts a rule to reduce, dollar-for-dollar, a carrier's high-
cost loop support (for rate of return carriers) or Connect America Fund 
Phase I frozen high-cost support (for price cap carriers) to the extent 
that the carrier's local end user rate plus state regulated fees do not 
meet a specified urban rate floor.
    (3) Modifies section 54.307;
    (4) Revises the certifications that states (or ETCs that are not 
subject to state jurisdiction) are required to file annually with the 
Commission and USAC to ensure that carriers use universal service 
support ``only for the provision, maintenance and upgrading of 
facilities and services for which the support is intended'' consistent 
with section 254(e) of the Act;
    (5) Eliminates the eligibility for Safety Net Additive support for 
costs incurred after 2009;
    (6) Eliminates the distinction between ``rural'' and ``non-rural'' 
carriers.
    (7) Moves the recordkeeping requirement from 47 CFR 54.202(e) to 
new section 47 CFR 54.320.
    (8) Extends current federal annual reporting requirements to all 
ETCs, including those designated by states.
    The Commission will use the information requirements to determine 
whether and to what extent incumbent LECs and competitive ETCs 
providing the data are eligible to receive universal service support.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary, Office of Managing Director.
[FR Doc. 2012-5360 Filed 3-5-12; 8:45 am]
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